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Bay 101
Bay 101 is the biggest regular game in the Bay Area, with regular limit hold 'em action at levels up to $200/$400. No-limit is a relatively new addition and is only available in small stakes forms. The casino is located literally on US 101 (from which it gets its name), only a few minutes away from the San Jose airport. Games Limit hold 'em: 4/8, 8/16 half kill, 20/40, 40/80, 100/200, 200/400. All the games are regularly running except 100/200 and 200/400, which may not be running at non-peak hours and Saturdays, and rarely runs on Sundays. Games above 8/16 are held in the high-limit area (far right of the casino) with a separate brush and board. Omaha/8: runs regularly at 4/8 with a half kill (though there is usually only one table of it running). No-limit hold 'em: Started in Aug 2010, after San Jose repealed their previous law against it. * 1/2/3 ($1 posted on the button, $2 small blind, $3 big blind) * 2/3/5 * 5/10 blinds * 10/20 * 20/40 Rake on all the smaller games (below 5/10 no-limit) is $5 for 7+ players, $3 for 6 players, and $1 for 5 or fewer. There is a time charge of $11/half hour at 80-160. Omaha/8 and the 5/10 NL games have a rake of $6. In the larger games there is also a lobby charge which players are required to contribute to the pot if they have missed their blinds in a full game and are not dealt in once they're in the cutoff. The lobby charge is $3 at 20/40 and $5 at 40/80 and 80/160. You can actually call ahead and reserve a seat for Omaha, and 20/40 and higher limits as well as the 10-200 spread-limit game. Game Character: The dealers at Bay 101 are some of the most experienced in the area, but that can lead to impatience or attitude problems on occasion: dealers can sometimes be rude when they receive any type of criticism. Low limit games can often (though not always) get crazy; a lot of maniacs frequent the place. While they can be profitable over the long run, having your aces cracked by the 6-9 offsuit who capped it preflop can get tiring after a while. Low limit here is definitely more of a "gambling" casino, where a majority of players at your table would prefer that all hands get capped preflop, and that they would be in it with a random two cards. As you would expect, as you go higher in limits, the quality of play improves and the number of gamboolers decreases. Posting: New players (or returning players who missed a blind) can choose to "buy the button" in limit games by posting both the small and big blinds in position after the button, in which case neither of the normal blinds posts anything. Otherwise, standard posting rules apply: new players must post a big blind to be dealt in; missed blinds must pay both blinds to be dealt in. New players may post between the small blind and the button, in which case the button will skip the player on the next hand. Shuffling: Standard Shufflemaster shuffling machines on all tables. Table sizes: 80/160 has 10 players/table, all other games have 9. Kills:: In Omaha (and in other games?) killer acts in turn. Wait Time: Waiting lists for hold 'em don't tend to be too long except on Friday and Saturday nights, when waits regularly exceed an hour. The 5-200 list often looks long but cycles quickly. Wait list for Omaha (because there's only one table) is often very very long: can be more than two hours especially on Friday nights. Tournaments Daily Tournaments: Daily tournaments. Most tourneys fill up at around 120 players; if you want to sign up you should arrive no later than 30 minutes before tourney start. Prize pools can get quite big on weekends, with first place commonly pulling down close to $10K. * Sun 9:00am NLHE Bounty $100+$20+$40 bounty * Sun night (Mon morning) 12:45 am NLHE $100+$20, no rb * Mon 9:30am NLHE $65+$15, no rb * Mon night (Tue morning) 12:45 am NLHE $100+$20, no rb * Tue 9:30am NLHE Nounty $80+$20+$20 * Tue night (Wed morning) 12:45 am NLHE Bounty $100+$20+$40 bounty * Wed 9:30am NLHE $50+$10, unlimited $40 rb * Thu 9:30am NLHE Double Stack $100+$20, no rb * Fri 9:30am NLHE $100+$20, no rb * Sat 9:00am NLHE $170+$30 * Second Saturday of each month: 9:30am NLHE $490+$40 The Bay 101 Shooting Star is their big annual tournament held around the beginning of March each year, part of the World Poker Tour. Like the WSOP, it has a number of different events, ranging from limit to pot limit to different buyins, but the main event is still the $10,000 NLHE tourney you see on TV. They also host a "Bay 101 Open" major week-long tournament series every year, in August. Most daily tournaments offer qualifying points toward entry on the Bay 101 Open. Jackpots Jackpots are prohibited by law in the city of San Jose. Atmosphere Large, high ceilings, open and airy and fairly "fancy" and upscale. Pretty clean and tidy. A number of medium-sized LCD televisions on the walls, but if you're not at a table near the edge of the room, you won't be able to see it easily. The screens near tournament tables are switched to show the tournament clock and details during tourneys. Fairly fancy overall, with a small upscale restaurant/bar in the middle of the building and a coatcheck near the main entrance. Marble entrance, large glass-and-brass doors. The bathrooms, on the other hand, are not particularly fancy - but are kept relatively clean and are quite large. There is also a deli and hair salon on site. Neighborhood: Located in an office-park area near the airport in San Jose, this is a very clean and upscale neighborhood. The area really slows down after business hours. Parking: HUGE onsite parking lot with over 200 spaces. Tables and Chairs: The tables haven't been replaced or resurfaced in a few years, but they're still serviceable, with soft felt and comfortable arm cushions. The chairs are standard metal-frame padded chairs. Service and Comps Food is pretty good, and service is acceptable in terms of attentiveness. Prices are not that great (no real discounts for seated players or anything). Standard "wheeled side tables" allow you to eat while you play, though the tables are a bit small. You are not allowed to bring in food or drinks from outside. Sodas are $1.25 for a cold can with a glass of ice. Comps are limited to only coffee and water, self serve at the main station in the back of the room. Links and Notes * Official Bay 101 Website * Tournament Calendar * The Yahoo Review Page for Bay 101. * A review of Bay 101 from a poker player who visited in March 2005. * A report of one of the early Bay 101 Shooting Star tournaments * Nearest competitor is Garden City Casino, 7 miles to the south. * MarkT visited every few months from 2005-2010. Category:Casinos